Feeder for printing-presses.



NITED STATES WILLIAM SULLIVAN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

FEEDER FORI PRINTING-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters :Pa/Gent N0. 650,959, dated June 5, 1900. Application filed August 2, 1899. Serial No. 725,893. (No model.)

To (LZZ wtmn t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SULLIVAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State 'of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Feeder for Printing-Presses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved feeding device for printingfpresses; and it has for its object to provide a device of this charac'- ter specially'designed as an attachment for envelop-printing machines to feed open-Hap envelops to the printing mechanism.

Heretofore inthe operation of automatic presses, especially of the type known as the Harris envelop-press, a form of which is shown in the paten tto Harris et al., No. 577,405, issued February 16, 1897, no provision has been made for feeding the envelops with the flap open, and the iiap has been utilized to receive within the fold thereof a feeding spring or blade, which' serves to move the envelop to the carrying mechanism for delivering the same between thetype-carrying and impression cylinders. This operation is open to a number of objections, one of which is that the envelops to be printed are stacked or piled with their flaps folded and are passed to the printing mechanism in this condition, sometimes causing the stickingof the flaps to the body of the envelop, besides making it impossible to print both upon the main portion and flap of the envelop without running the same two times through the press. Furthermore, in a great many instances, especially in coin-envelops, the envelops are constructed with the flaps unfolded or open to facilitate the handling of the envelop by the user, and by providing means for feeding an envelop in this condition to the printing mchanism the objections to the ordinary feeding operation are overcome, besides permitting of both the body portion and flap being printed at one and the saine operation.

To this end the invention contemplates a feeding device adapted to replaceV the usual feeding device of the Harris or similar envelop-machines and so constructed as to provide simple means for feeding open-Hap envelops to the printing mechanism.

With'these and other objects in view,which will readily appear to those skilled in the art as the nature of the invention is better iinderstood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

The essential features of the invention are necessarily susceptible to some modification without departing from the spirit or scope thereof; but the preferred embodiment of the same is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective View of a portion of a Harris automatic envelop-printing inachine, showing the same equipped with a pair of feeding devices constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a detail in perspective of one of the improved feeders or feeding devices. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View thereof, showing in dotted lines the relation which the feeder bears to the open-iiap envelop when engaging with the latter to carry it from beneath the stack or pile to the carrying mechanism of the press.

Like numerals and letters of referencedesignate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the numeral l designates a portion of a Harris envelop and card printing machine of the type shown in the aforesaid patent to Harris et al., No. 577,405. This machine is provided, contiguous to and at one side of the type-cylinder 2, with the usual envelop magazine or holder 3, of skeleton formation and essentially consisting of a plurality of uprights 4, sustained in position by the usual collars 5, carried by the adjustable supports 6, held above the machine-framework. The said u prights 4 are grouped in the usual rectangular arrangement to provide a magazine or holder of approximately this shape, so that the same will receive therein the stack or pile ofenvelops, such stack or pile being designated in the drawings by the reference-letter E. Ordinaril'yin printingmachines of the type shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings the envelops E are stacked together with their iiaps folded, as no provision is made for feeding the same with open flaps; but in carrying out thepresent invention the envelops are stacked or piled within the magazine or holder with their flaps left open, so as to obviate the objections to running a closed-flap envelop through a printing-press, as well as permitting of having both the main portion and flap of the envelop printed upon at one operation should this be desired.

In adapting the envelop-printing machine for feeding the openflap envelops therethrough it is simply necessary to replace the ordinary feeding fingers or blades, such as shown in the patent to Harris, No. 586,490, dated July 123, 1897, by the feeders forming the subject-matter of the present application. A pair of these feeders is usually associated with the feed-bar 7 of the machine to provide for carrying the envelops into the machine perfectly straight, and, being duplicates, a description of one will suffice for both.

Each feeder or feeding device (designated in its entirety by the numeral S) essentially comprises an attaching-block 9, a straight supporting-blade lO, and a longitudinallycurved feed-arm ll. The attaching-block i) of the feeder is provided with a notch or bifurcation 12, receiving the feed-bar 7 of the machine and permitting of the adjustment of the feeder longitudinally thereof,according to the width of the envelop to be fed through the machine, and said attaching-block 9 has ltted thereto a set-screw 13, working in a threaded opening at one side of the notch or bifurcation and adapted to impinge on the feed-bar 7 to hold the feeder thereon in any adjusted position. At this point it may be observed that the feed-bar 7 is reciprocated in the usual manner and by the ordinary operating connections, which, forming no part of the present invention, are not illustrated in the drawings.

The straight supporting-blade lO of each feeder is adapted to work over the table beneath the stack or pile of envelops within the magazine or holder, and while not acting in the capacity of a feeding medium forms a partial support for the cnvelops and assists in holding the envelop in proper shape while being fed to the printing mechanism. Said supporting-plate l0 preferably consists of a straight strip of springmetal and is provided at one end willi a longitudinally-disposed slot il, receiving the adjusting-screws l5, which engage in threaded openin gs in the attachingblock 9 and provide for a longitudinal adjustment of the blade 10 and its attached feeding-arm 11 to adapt the feeder for different sizes of envelops. The arm ll consists of a strip of spring-steel and is rigidly joined to the attached end of the supporting-blade, as at 1G, so as to leave the other end thereof free to enter the pocket of the envelop to provide for advancing the same toward the printing mechanism. The spring feed-arm 1l overlies the blade lO and is disposed within the longitudinal plane thereof, but is preferably of a materially-narrower width to facilitate its engagement with the envelop. Further,

- the said spring is curved outwardly or upwardly from the blade, so that it will readily spring into position for entering the pocket of a succeeding envelop when the feeder retires from the envelop last fed to the printing mechanism.

In the operation of the machine the pairof feeders or feed devices embodying the present invention work beneath the stack or pile of open-Hap envelops E, which have their llaps F disposed at the outer side of the magazine or holder, so that as the feeders are reciprocated. beneath the envelops the spring feed-arms 11 thereof will readily pass beneath the flap of the lowermost envelop and enter the main pocket of the latter, so that as the feeders continue to advance the envelop will be advanced to the point where it is caught by the usual carrying mechanism for delivering the same to the printing mech-v anism. Upon the retirement of the feeders from the envelop last fed the outward movement of the feed-bar is regulated to carry the spring feed-arms ll to a position beneath the flap of the next envelop, so that the next advance movement will carry the feed -arms into the pocket of the envelop, as before.

From the .foregoing it is thought that the construction and operation and the many advantages of the herein-described feeding device will be readily apparent to those skilled in the .art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, and proportion and minor details of construction lnay be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed isl. A device for feeding open-flap envelops to printing-presses, comprising a supportingbladeadapted to extend beneath the body of the envelop, and a feed-arm overlying the said blade, and arranged to enter within the envelop, substantially as set forth.

2. A device for feeding open-flap envelops to printing-presses, comprising a support carried by the usual feed mechanism, a straight supporting-blade adapted to extend beneath the body of the envelop, and a spring feedarm disposed at one side of the supportingblade and arranged to lie beneath the open fiap, so as to enter the pocket of the envelop, substantially as set forth.

A device for feeding open-flap envelops to printingpresses, comprising a support adapted to be carried by the usual feeding mechanism, a straight supporting-blade for the body of the envelop, and aseparate curved feed-arln arranged at one side of, and movable with, the supporting-blade, said curved feed-arm being adapted to work beneath the open flap and into the pocket of the envelop, substantially as set forth.

4. A device for feeding open-flap envelops to printing-presses, comprising an attachingblock, a straight supporting-blade for the body of the envelop adjustably connected at IOC IIO

one end to the block, and a short spring feedarm arranged Within the longitudinal plane my own I have hereto affixed my signature in ro of said blade and joined to the attaching end thereof, said feed-arm having its free end curved outwardly from the blade and adapted to spring into position beneath the open Hap for entering the pocket of the succeeding envelop, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as the presence of two witnesses.

' VILLIAM SULLIVAN.

Witnesses:

FRANK BURROUGHS, CHARLES HAHN. 

